Floral container having a water-impermeable external layer

ABSTRACT

A floral container having a water-impermeable external layer for a floral grouping comprising a holding material and having a water-impermeable external surface layer. The holding material is constructed of a material capable of receiving a portion of a floral grouping, botanical item or propagule and supporting the botanical item, floral grouping or propagule. A sheet of material may be extended about a portion of the holding material and a crimped portion or bonded portion is formed in the sheet of material with the crimped portion or the bonded portion cooperating to hold the sheet of material about the holding material to provide a decorative cover. A bond or other tying device may also be used to bond the sheet of material to the flower pot.

RELATED REFERENCES

The present application is a continuation of 08/415,263, filed Apr. 3,1995, entitled FLORAL CONTAINER HAVING A WATER IMPERMEABLE EXTERNALLAYER, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,644, issued May 14, 1996, which is adivisional of U.S. Ser. No. 08/053,062, filed Apr. 26, 1994, entitledFLORAL CONTAINER HAVING A WATER IMPERMEABLE EXTERNAL LAYER, now U.S.Pat. No. 5,402,599, issued Apr. 4, 1995, which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. Ser. No. 07/941,992, filed Sep. 8, 1992, entitled DECORATIVEASSEMBLY FOR A FLORAL GROUPING, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,856, issued May2, 1995. Said application Ser. No. 08/053,062 is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/949,175, filed Sep. 22, 1992,entitled DECORATIVE COVER WITH BAND, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,601, issuedAug. 23, 1994.

Said application Ser. No. 08/053,062, is also a continuation-in-part ofU.S. Pat. No. 07/934,832, filed Aug. 24, 1992, entitled BAND APPLICATORFOR APPLYING A BAND ABOUT A SHEET OF MATERIAL AND A POT, now U.S. Pat.No. 5,426,914, issued Jun. 27, 1995, which is a continuation of U.S.Ser. No. 07/819,311, filed Jan. 9, 1992, entitled MEANS FOR SECURING ADECORATIVE COVER ABOUT A FLOWER POT, now abandoned, which is acontinuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/765,416, filed Sep. 26, 1991, entitledMEANS FOR SECURING A DECORATIVE COVER ABOUT A FLOWER POT, now U.S. Pat.No. 5,105,599, issued Apr. 21, 1992, which is a continuation of U.S.Ser. No. 07/530,491, filed May 29, 1990, entitled MEANS FOR SECURING ADECORATIVE COVER ABOUT A POT, now abandoned, which is a continuation ofU.S. Ser. No. 07/315,169, filed Feb. 24, 1989, entitled MEANS FORSECURING A DECORATIVE COVER ABOUT A POT, now abandoned.

Said application Ser. No. 08/053,062, is also a continuation-in-part ofU.S. Ser. No. 07/940,930, filed Sep. 4, 1992, entitled FLOWER POT COVERWITH CRIMPED PORTION, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,482, issued Nov. 8, 1994,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/926,098, filed Aug.5, 1992, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING A DECORATIVE COVER,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/803,318, filed Dec.4, 1991, entitled WRAPPING MATERIAL FOR WRAPPING A FLORAL GROUPINGHAVING STAGGERED STRIPS OF ADHESIVE APPLIED THERETO AND METHOD, now U.S.Pat. No. 5,344,016, issued Sep. 6, 1994, which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. Ser. No. 07/707,417, filed May 28, 1991, entitled WRAPPING AFLORAL GROUPING WITH SHEETS HAVING ADHESIVE OR COHESIVE MATERIAL APPLIEDTHERETO, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.07/502,358, filed Mar. 29, 1990, entitled WRAPPING A FLORAL GROUPINGWITH SHEETS HAVING ADHESIVE OR COHESIVE MATERIAL APPLIED THERETO, nowabandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/391,463,filed Aug. 9, 1989, entitled ADHESIVE APPLICATOR, now abandoned, whichis a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/249,761, filed Sep. 26,1988, entitled METHOD FOR WRAPPING AN OBJECT IN A MATERIAL HAVINGPRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVE THEREON, now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a shaped floral holdingmaterial having a water-impermeable external layer and, moreparticularly, but not by way of limitation, to a foam-type floralholding material having a glazed or lacquered external surface which issubstantially impermeable to water.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a floral container constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of another floral container.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the floral container of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of yet another floral container.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another floral container constructed inaccordance with the present invention and having a support mesh.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of another floral container constructed inaccordance with the present invention and having an internal cavity.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the floral container of FIG. 6 whichadditionally has internal support rods.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the floral container of FIG. 6 having agrowth medium disposed therein.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the floral container of FIG. 6 having afoam insert disposed therein.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a floral container constructed inaccordance with the present invention having a watering tube.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a floral container constructed inaccordance with the present invention and having a tear strip in theexternal layer.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the floral container of FIG. 11 afterthe tear strip has been pulled downward.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of several of the floral containers ofFIG. 10 attached to a watering system.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of a floral container having a nutrientsource.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of another floral container having anothernutrient source.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of another floral container having anutrient source.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a floral container constructed in theform of a growing tray or block constructed in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the floral container of FIG. 17 afterhaving been subdivided into portions.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of another floral container constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of another floral container constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a sectional view of a floral container having channels andsupport rods disposed therein.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a floral container constructed inaccordance with the present invention and covered with a decorativecover.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a sheet of material.

FIG. 24 is a plan view of another sheet of material.

FIG. 25 is a sectional view of a floral container of the presentinvention surrounded and wrapped by a crimped sheet of material.

FIG. 26 is a sectional view of another floral container surrounded andwrapped by a crimped sheet of material.

FIG. 27 is a plan view of a sheet of material having a bonding materialdisposed thereupon.

FIG. 28 is a sectional view of a floral container wrapped and decoratedwith the sheet of material of FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is a plan view of a sheet of material having another pattern ofbonding material disposed thereupon.

FIG. 30 is a sectional view of a floral container constructed inaccordance with the present invention and wrapped and decorated with thesheet of material of FIG. 29.

DESCRIPTION

The present invention contemplates a formed floral holding materialhaving a glazed or lacquered outer surface layer which is substantiallyimpermeable to water. In essence, the formed floral holding materialacts as its own pot, vase or container for containing floral orbotanical elements. The water impermeable external surface eliminatesthe necessity of placing the formed floral holding material within aseparate pot, container or covering for the purpose of retaining waterand nutrients within the formed floral material as would otherwise berequired.

Embodiments of FIGS. 1-13

Shown in FIG. 1 and designated by the general reference number 10 is afloral container. The floral container 10 further comprises a floralholding material 12 having an external surface layer 14. The floralcontainer 10 has an upper end 16 and a lower end 18. The floralcontainer 10 shown in FIG. 1 is rectangular shaped, although the floralcontainer 10 may be any shape desired in any particular application, forexample spherical, frustoconical, cylindrical, vase-shaped or othergeometric shapes. The floral holding material 12 of the floral container10 is constructed of a material capable of receiving a portion of afloral grouping 20 and holding or supporting the floral grouping 20without any pot means such as a separate flower pot for example.

The water-impermeable external surface layer 14 may be comprised of oneof any number of commercially available compounds which can be used tocoat the external surface of the floral container 10 as long as thelacquer does not result in decomposition of the floral container. Forexample, the coating may be a commercially available polyurethane-typeor polyester isocyanate compound. The coating may be moisture-curable.The impermeable external surface layer 14 may be produced by brieflyheating the external layer of the floral container 10 to cause ahardened glazing.

The external surface layer 14 may be undecorated or decorated (notshown). The decorations could be decorations with inks, ribbons,sequins, ceramics, sheets of material, plastic attachments, or any of anumber of other decorative features.

The floral holding material 12 may be the type of material commonlyreferred to in the art as floral foam or Oasis™ or may be soil orartificial soil or other earth composition so long as the material iscapable of holding its predetermined shape and capable of receiving andsupporting the floral grouping 20 without any additional pot means. Inthe preferred embodiment, the floral holding material 12 is capable ofreceiving and holding an irrigant for supplying the floral grouping 20,or propagule or botanical item disposed therein.

By the term "irrigant" is meant any aqueous solution used to irrigatethe propagule or botanical item disposed within the holding material.The irrigant may be tap water or may further comprise water havingfertilizers, salts, nutrients, hormones, or other substances dissolvedor suspended therein.

As shown in FIG. 1, the floral grouping 20 has a stem end 22 and a bloomend 24. A portion of the stem end 22 of the floral grouping 20 isextended into the floral holding material 12. The bloom end 24 of thefloral grouping 20 extends a distance above the floral holding material12.

"Floral grouping" as used herein means a botanical item or propagule andmay include other secondary plants and/or natural or syntheticornamental materials which add to the aesthetics of the overall floralgrouping.

The term "botanical item" as used herein means a natural or artificialherbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination. The term"botanical item" also means any portion or portions of natural orartificial herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves, flowers,blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly or in combination,or in groupings of such portions such as bouquet or floral grouping.

The term "propagule" as used herein means any structure capable of beingpropagated or acting as an agent of reproduction including seeds,shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.

The external surface layer 14 could be composed of a material whichcould be permeated or destroyed by activation with a solvent or withmicrobes able to degrade the layer 14.

As mentioned above, the floral holding material 12, as shown in FIG. 1,is generally rectangularly shaped. The floral container 10a shown inFIGS. 2 and 3 is constructed exactly like the floral container 10 shownin FIG. 1 and described in detail before, except the floral container10a has a generally spherical shape as compared to the rectangular shapeshown in FIG. 1 with respect to the floral container 10. The floralcontainer 10a is comprised of a formed floral holding material 12ahaving an external surface layer 14a exactly like the layer 14, an upperend 16a and a lower end 18a. A flat portion may be formed on the lowerend 18a of the floral container 10a so that the floral container 10a maybe supported more easily on a flat surface such as on a table (notshown) for example.

Shown in FIG. 4 is a modified floral container 10b which is constructedexactly like the floral container 10 shown in FIG. 1 and described indetail before, except the floral container 10b is in the shape of asolid basket comprising a floral holding material 12b having an externalsurface layer 14b and with a flat upper end 16b and having a flat lowerend 18b for resting on a surface.

Shown in FIG. 5 and designated by the general reference numeral 10c is afloral container constructed exactly like the floral holding container10 shown in FIG. 1 and described in detail before, except the floralcontainer 10c has a generally cylindrical shape having an upper end 16c.In addition, beneath the external surface layer 14c which is exactlylike layer 14 is a reinforcing structure 26 for providing support andreinforcement of the floral holding material 12c which comprises thebulk of the floral container 10c. In FIG. 5 the embodiment is amesh-like material which may be comprised of fibers or wire which may beof a plastic, metal or natural or synthetic fibrous composition.

Shown in FIG. 6 and designated by the general reference number 10d is afloral container constructed of the same floral holding material andhereby designated as 12d as comprises the container 10 in FIG. 1. Thefloral container 10d has an external surface layer 14d which is exactlylike the layer 14 and an inner surface 15d and may have a reinforcingstructure (not shown) beneath the external surface layer 14d. Thecontainer 10d has a cavity 28 which extends from an opening in the upperend 16d a distance into the floral container 10d thereby forming ahollow area in the container 10d. The hollow floral container 10d mayhave a frusto-conical shape, or it may be rectangular or cylindrical oranother applicable shape.

The floral container 10d may also contain a reinforcing structure suchas a mesh (not shown) or one or more bars or rods 30 as indicated inFIG. 7 for providing support to the floral holding material 12d.

As shown in FIG. 8, the cavity 28 of the floral container 12d may befilled with a growing medium 32. The term "growing medium" used hereinmeans any liquid, solid or gaseous material used for plant growth or forthe cultivation of propagules, including organic and inorganic materialssuch as soil, humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and includingthe nutrients, fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof requiredby the plants or propagules for growth.

Shown in FIG. 9 is a floral container 10d which contains a "nested"floral container 10e having an upper end 16e. The floral container 10ehas a shape similar to the shape of the cavity 28 such that the floralcontainer 10e can fit into the cavity 28. The floral container 10e hasat least some portion of its external surface layer 14e which ispermeable to water and thus does not comprise a completely waterimpermeable external surface layer as does the floral container 10dwithin which floral container 10e is contained. Therefore, water andnutrients are able to flow between the floral holding material 12d ofthe floral container 10d and the floral holding material 12e of thecontainer 10e. Only a portion of the external surface layer 14e of thefloral container 10e may be water permeable, or the entire externalsurface layer 14e of the floral container 10e may be water permeable. Inone embodiment, the floral grouping 20 is placed into the floralcontainer 10e first, then after a period of time, the floral container10e which contains the floral grouping 20, is inserted into the cavity28 of the floral container 10d for further disposition.

Water, fertilizer and other nutrients may be supplied to the floralcontainers 10-10d by their application to the upper surface 16-16d ofthe floral containers 10-10d. Alternatively, as indicated with floralcontainer 10f having external surface layer 14f and upper end 16f shownin FIG. 10, water may be applied through a tube 34 inserted into thefloral holding material 12f. The tube 34 has perforations 36 wherebywhen water is introduced into the tube 34 in direction 38, the waterflows through the perforations 36 in direction 40 into the floralholding material 12f. Any of the embodiments 10-10e of the presentinvention may be adapted with a tube similar to tube 34 formoisture/nutrient application purposes. Alternatively, fertilizers,nutrients or other plant requirements could be impregnated into theholding material thereby eliminating the need for adding fertilizers,nutrients or other requirements via an irrigant.

Shown in FIG. 11 and designated by the reference numeral 42 is a systemfor growing a plurality of botanical items or propagules 20a in aplurality of floral containers 10f constructed exactly the same asfloral containers 10f shown in FIG. 10. Each container 10f has a tube 34which is disposed in the floral holding material 12f of the container10f. Each tube 34 is connected to a feeder pipe 44 via a feeder line 46.Water, fertilizer, nutrients or other materials are introduced intofeeder pipe 44 in direction 47 and the water or other substances flowthrough the feeder lines 46 in direction 38 into tubes 34, therebyintroducing the substances into the floral containers 10f.

Shown in FIG. 12 and designated by the general reference number 10g is afloral container having floral holding material 12g therein andconstructed exactly the same as the floral container 10f except that thecontainer 10g has a tear strip 48 embedded in the external surface layer14g. When the tear strip is peeled back in a downward motion, a groove50 is caused in the external surface layer 14g as shown in FIG. 13. Thegroove 50 serves to expose a portion of the floral holding material 12gwherein the external surface layer 14g which is otherwise exactly likethe layer 14 is rendered permeable to water and through which groove 50water can pass into the floral holding material 12g to provide water ornutrients carried therein to floral grouping held by the floral holdingmaterial 12g.

Embodiments of FIGS. 14-16

Shown in FIG. 14 and designated by the reference numeral 10h is a floralcontainer constructed exactly like floral container 10d in FIG. 6 exceptfloral container 10h has a nutrient source 52 which may be attached tosome portion of a floral holding material 12h and preferably attached toan inner surface 15h of the floral holding material 12h.

Alternatively, a nutrient source 52a may be placed in the bottom of thecavity 28 of the floral container 10h as shown in FIG. 15 or a nutrientsource 52b may be disposed in an aperture 54 in the floral holdingmaterial 12h also as shown in FIG. 15. Similarly, the nutrient source52b may be disposed in an aperture 54 in a solid floral container suchas floral container 10f as shown in FIG. 16.

Embodiments of FIGS. 17-19

Shown in FIG. 17, and designated by the reference numeral 60 is agrowing tray composed of a plurality of growing units 62. The growingtray 60 is constructed of the same floral holding material used toconstruct the floral containers 10-10h as shown in FIGS. 1-16. Theexternal surface 64 and bottom surface 66 of the growing tray 60 has anexternal surface layer 68 which is comprised of the same material as theexternal surface layers 14-14h in FIGS. 1-16 and is impermeable towater. The upper surface 70 of the growing tray 60 is not covered with awater impermeable layer. The floral holding material 72 which compriseseach growing unit 62 of the growing tray 60 may have a series ofpassageways or channels 74 to facilitate distribution of water,nutrients and fertilizers throughout the floral holding material 72. Thegrowing tray 60 serves as a convenient substrate and growing medium forbotanical items or propagules 76.

The growing tray 60 may be shipped to various distributors for furtherculture, shipping or sales. Alternatively, the growing tray 60 may besubdivided into subportions 62a made up of two or more growing units 62.Similarly, the growing tray 60 may be subdivided into separateindividual subunits 62b such as shown in FIG. 18. Each subportion 62a orsubunit 62b, after separation from the growing tray, has at least onewater-permeable surface 78 through which water can pass to reach thebotanical item or propagule 76. An individual subunit 62b can bepurchased separately for transplanting elsewhere in another growingmedium.

Alternatively, the subunit 62b can be transferred to another growingtray such as the growing tray designated by the reference numeral 80 inFIG. 19. Growing tray 80 is exactly the same as growing tray 60 exceptthat it has a plurality of cavities 82 which are sufficiently sized toreceive and contain individual subunits 62b. Transfer of the subunit 62binto growing tray 80 allows the botanical item 76 contained therein tocontinue its growth, perhaps to a larger size, or to a more mature ordeveloped state. Even though the subunit 62b may have a residual waterimpermeable wall surface, the subunit 62b will have at least a partialwater-permeable wall surface 78 as shown in FIG. 18. Thus, when asubunit 62b is deposited into an open cavity 82 of the growing tray 80,water can enter the floral holding material 72 of the subunit 62b tosupport continued growth of the botanical item 76. It will be understoodby one of ordinary skill in the art that the growing trays 60 and 80 maybe comprised of a variable number of individual subunits or cavities.The growing tray 80 may be provided with passageways or channels 84similar in nature and function to the channels 74 of growing tray 60.The growing tray 80 may also be subdivided into subportions or subunitsexactly the same as growing tray 60 for transplanting exactly the sameas subunits 62b.

The growing trays 60 and 80 may be treated with perforations (not shown)which pass through the floral holding material comprising the trays 60and 80 in such a configuration to facilitate the subdividing of thetrays 60 and 80 into subunits and subportions. Subdivision of the trays60 and 80 may be manual or automatic.

Embodiments of FIGS. 20-21

Shown in FIG. 20 and designated by the reference numeral 60a is agrowing tray in which the watering channels are disposed within theinterior of the floral holding material rather than on the upper surfaceas indicated for growing trays 60 and 80 in FIGS. 17-19. The growingtray 60a has indentations or holes 88 for receiving propagules. A tube90 receives water from a water source which may be similar to the watersource shown in FIG. 11, or which may be a water source supplying thesingle growing tray 60a. The water introduced through the tube 90supplies interior passageways within the floral holding material.

Shown in FIG. 21 and designated by the reference numeral 60b is anembodiment of a growing tray having a plurality of passageways orchannels 92 arranged within the interior of the floral holding materialof the tray 60b. The tray 60b is exactly the same as growing tray 60aexcept growing tray 60b also has reinforcing rods or bars 94 whichprovide additional support for the growing tray 60b when it is moved.The reinforcing rods 94 may be comprised of paper, wood, plastic, metalor any other natural or synthetic stiffening material. Similarly, thetray may be reinforced with a mesh or net comprised of plastic, wire,rope or other natural or synthetic fibrous or mesh-like material.

Embodiment of FIG. 22

Although the present invention contemplates a floral container having awater impermeable outer surface and thus experiences minimal or noleakage, there may be occasions when it is desired to cover the floralcontainer 10 with a preformed decorative cover 96 as shown in FIG. 22.In this case, the floral container 10 is placed manually orautomatically into the decorative cover 96 for display, sale or shippingor for further growth.

The decorative cover 96 may have a bonding material on its inner surfacefor bonding of the cover to the external surface of the floral container10. Alternatively, a bonding material may be applied to the outersurface of the floral container 10 for bonding to the inner surface ofthe decorative cover 96. Alternatively, both the inner surface of thedecorative cover 96 and the outer surface of the floral container 10 mayhave bonding materials applied thereto for causing bonding of thedecorative cover 96 to the outer surface of the container 10.

The term "bonding material" as used herein means an adhesive, preferablya pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. Where the bonding materialis a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must be placed on theadjacent surface for bondingly contacting and bondingly engaging withthe cohesive material. The term "bonding material" also includesmaterials which are heat sealable and, in this instance, the adjacentportions of the material must be brought into contact and then heat mustbe applied to effect the seal. The term "bonding material" as usedherein also means a heat sealing lacquer which may be applied to thesheet of material and, in this instance, heat also must be applied toeffect the sealing. The term "bonding material" as used herein means anytype of material or thing which can be used to effect the bonding orconnecting of the two adjacent portions of the material or sheet ofmaterial to effect the connection or bonding described herein.

Embodiments of FIGS. 23-26

There may be occasions when it is desirable to apply to the floralcontainer not a preformed decorative cover 96 but rather a sheet ofmaterial which can be wrapped around the floral container and boundabout the floral container.

Shown in FIG. 23 and designated by the general reference numeral 110 isa sheet of material constructed in accordance with the presentinvention. The sheet of material 110 has an upper surface 112, a lowersurface 114 and an outer peripheral surface 116.

The sheet of material 110 is constructed from any suitable flexiblematerial that is capable of being wrapped or extended about a floralcontainer (such as floral container 10 as described previously inFIG. 1) in the manner described below. Preferably, the sheet of material110 is constructed of a material selected from a group of materialsconsisting of paper, metal foil, cloth (natural or synthetic orcombinations thereof), denim, burlap, polymer film or cling material orcombinations thereof.

The term "polymer film" as used herein means any polymer film. Forexample, but not by way of limitation, one polymer film is apolypropylene film. Another example of a polymer film, but not by way oflimitation, is cellophane.

The sheet of material 110 has a thickness in a range from about 0.1 milsto about 30 mils. Preferably, the sheet of material 110 has a thicknessin a range from about 0.1 mils to about 5 mils.

The sheet of material 110 may be any shape and a square shape is shownin FIG. 23 only by way of example. The sheet of material may be acircular sheet of material 110a as shown in FIG. 24 or may berectangular or any other geometric shape such as heart shape, forexample.

The sheet of material 110 may be constructed of a single layer ofmaterial or a plurality of layers of the same or different types ofmaterials. Any thickness of the sheet of material 110 may be utilized inaccordance with the present invention as long as the sheet of material110 is wrappable about a floral container 10, as described herein.Additionally, an insulating material such as bubble film, preferable asone of two or more layers, can be utilized in order to provideadditional protection for the item wrapped therein. The layers ofmaterial comprising the sheet of material 110 may be connected togetheror laminated or may be separate layers.

A decorative pattern, such as a color and/or an embossed pattern, and/orother decorative surface ornamentation may be applied to the uppersurface 112 and/or the lower surface 114 of the sheet of material 110 orportions thereof including, but not limited to printed design, coatings,colors, flocking or metallic finishes. The sheet of material 110 alsomay be totally or partially clear or tinted transparent material.

"Cling Wrap or Material" as used herein means any material which iscapable of connecting to the sheet of material and/or itself uponcontacting engagement during the wrapping process and is wrappable aboutan item whereby portions of the cling material contactingly engage andconnect to other portions of the wrapping material for generallysecuring the sheet of material wrapped about at least a portion of theitem. This connecting engagement is preferably temporary in that thewrapping material may be easily removed without tearing same, i.e., thecling material "clings" to the wrapping material. A wrapping materialremains securely connected to and about the wrapped item until thewrapping material is torn therefrom.

The cling material is constructed and treated if necessary, frompolyethylene such as Cling Wrap made by Glad®, First Brands Corporation,Danbury, Conn. The thickness of the cling material will, in part, dependupon the thickness of the sheet of material utilized, i.e., generally,the thicker and therefore heavier sheet of material may require athicker and therefore stronger cling material. The cling material willrange in thickness from less than about 0.2 mils to about 10 mils, andpreferably less than about 0.5 mils to about 2.5 mils and mostpreferably from less than about 0.6 mils to about 2 mils. However, anythickness of cling material may be utilized in accordance with thepresent invention which permits the cling material to function asdescribed herein.

The sheet of material 110 is disposed adjacent the floral container 10with the upper surface 112 of the sheet of material 110 being disposedadjacent the external surface layer 14 of the floral container 10. Inthis position, as shown in FIG. 25, the sheet of material 110 isextended about and covers a substantial portion of the floral container10 leaving the upper end 16 of the floral container 10 substantiallyuncovered so that a floral grouping 20 contained therein extendsoutwardly from the upper end 16 of the floral container 10.

In this position, a crimped portion 132 is formed in the sheet ofmaterial 110 near the upper end 16 of the floral container 10. Thecrimped portion 132 is formed by crimping together portions of the sheetof material 110 to form the crimped portion 132. The crimped portion 132extends a distance inwardly toward a central portion of the floralcontainer 10. The crimped portion 132 preferably extendscircumferentially about the upper end 16 of the floral container 10,although the crimped portion 132 could be formed only in portions of thesheet of material 110 thereby forming circumferentially spaced apartcrimped portions if desired in a particular application.

As shown in FIG. 25, the crimped portion 132 is formed by placing a band134 about a portion of the sheet of material 110 with the band 134gathering or bringing together portions of the sheet of material 110pulling portions of the sheet of material 110 toward a central portionof the upper end 16 of the floral container 10 to form the crimpedportion 132.

The term "band" as used herein means any material which may be securedabout an object such as the floral container 10, such bands commonlybeing referred to as elastic bands or rubber bands and also includes anyother type of material such as a string or elastic piece of material,non-elastic piece of material, a round piece of material, a flat pieceof material, a ribbon, a piece of paper strip, a piece of plastic strip,a piece of wire, a tie wrap or a twist tie or combinations thereof orany other device capable of gathering the sheet of material 110 toremovably or substantially permanently form the crimped portion 132 andsecure the crimped portion 132 formed in the sheet of material 110. Theband 134 also may include a bow if desired in a particular application.

A portion of the sheet of material 110 near the outer periphery 116thereof extends a distance above and beyond the crimped portion 132 toform a skirt 136 (FIG. 25) extending circumferentially about the upperend 16 of the floral container 10 and circumferentially about the floralgrouping 20. The sheet of material 110 secured about the floralcontainer 10 in the manner just described provides a decorative covering138. The sheet of material 110 and the floral container 10 together withthe means for forming the crimped portion 132 comprise a decorativeassembly 140.

In one preferred embodiment, the band 134 is automatically placed aboutthe sheet of material 110 using any one of a number of commerciallyavailable automatic or semi automatic banding machines such as theautomatic shaping machine Model No. Power 260 available from ClementsIndustries, Inc., South Hackensack, N.J., or the machine Model No. ModelBMNS Side Bender available from Saxmayer Corporation, Blissfield, Minn.(MN), for example. In this last mentioned embodiment, the floralcontainer 10 with the sheet of material 110 extended thereabout isplaced in the banding machine and the banding machine is activated toautomatically place the band 134 about the sheet of material 110.

A system for automatically placing a band about a sheet of materialdisposed about a flower pot is disclosed in co-pending applicationentitled "BAND APPLICATOR FOR APPLYING A BAND ABOUT A SHEET OF MATERIALAND A POT", U.S. Ser. No. 07/934,832, filed Aug. 24, 1992 and assignedto the assignee of the present invention and one disclosure of theletters application specifically is incorporated herein by reference.This system can be utilized for automatically placing the band 134 aboutthe sheet of material 110 in accordance with the present invention.

In one other embodiment, the sheet of material 110 is placed about thefloral container 10 and then placed in a holding device of the typedisclosed in co-pending patent application entitled "METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR WRAPPING A FLORAL GROUPING WITH WATER HOLDING ANDRELEASING MATERIAL", U.S. Ser. No. 07/922,293, filed Jul. 30, 1992 andassigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure ofwhich specifically hereby is incorporated herein by reference. Thisdevice includes a band holder. After the floral container 10 with thesheet of material 110 extended thereabout is placed in the holdingdevice, the operator then takes a band from the band holder and pulls itover the holding device and onto the sheet of material 110.

Shown in FIG. 26 is a modified floral container 10a exactly the same asthe floral container 10 shown in FIG. 25 and described in detail before,except the floral container 10a is in the shape of a solid basket.

The sheet of material 110a shown in FIG. 24 is disposed or extendedabout the floral container 10a. A crimped portion 132a is formed in thesheet of material 110a via a band 134a for cooperating to hold the sheetof material 110a in position about the floral container 10a to providethe decorative covering 138a to form the decorative assembly 140a.

Embodiment of FIGS. 27-28

Shown in FIG. 27 is a modified sheet of material 110b which isconstructed exactly like the sheet of material 110a shown in FIG. 24 anddescribed in detail before, except the sheet of material 110b has aclosure bonding material 142 (also referred to herein as "bondingmaterial") disposed thereon. More particularly, the closure bondingmaterial 142 is disposed on the upper surface 112b of the sheet ofmaterial 110b and the closure bonding material 142 is spaced a distance144 from the outer periphery 116b of the sheet of material 110b. Theclosure bonding material 142 extends circumferentially about the sheetof material 110b. The closure bonding material 142 is spaced a distance145 radially from a central portion of the sheet of material 110b. Itshould be noted that, although the closure bonding material 142 is shownin FIG. 27 in the form of a continuous strip of closure bonding material142, the closure bonding material 142 may be in the form of spots orspaced-apart strips and the spots or strips may be of any geometricshape desired in a particular application.

Shown in FIG. 28 is a decorative assembly 140b comprising a floralcontainer 10 which is constructed exactly like the floral container 10shown in FIG. 1 and described in detail before.

In operation, the sheet of material 110b is extended about a portion ofthe external surface 14 of the floral container 10. The crimped portion132b is formed in the sheet of material 110b by crimping togetherportions of the sheet of material 110b near the closure bonding material142 and forming overlapping portions of the sheet of material 110b withthe overlapping portions being substantially bonded via the closurebonding material 142 to form the crimped portion 132b. The crimpedportion 132b will cooperate to hold the sheet of material 110b about thefloral container 10 to provide the decorative covering 138b in a mannerexactly like that described before with respect to the crimped portion132b formed with the band 134 shown in FIG. 25, except in this instancethe crimped portion 132b is formed by bringing together and bondingportions of the sheet of material 110b via the closure bonding material142. The closure bonding material 142 is positioned on the upper surface112b of the sheet of material 110b so that the crimped portion 132b ispositioned above the upper end 16 of the floral container 10 as shown inFIG. 28.

The crimping of the sheet of material 110b may be accomplished by handor with a machine or device.

Embodiment of FIGS. 29-30

Shown in FIG. 29 is a modified sheet of material 110c which isconstructed exactly like the sheet of material 110b shown in FIG. 27,except the sheet of material 110c also includes a first pot bondingmaterial 146 which extends circumferentially about a portion of thesheet of material 110c. A closure bonding material 142 is spaced adistance from the outer peripheral edge 116c of the sheet 110c. Thefirst pot bonding material 146 is spaced a distance from the closurebonding material 142 and spaced a distance from a central portion of thesheet of material 110c. The sheet of material 110c may also include asecond pot bonding material 148 which is disposed on the upper surface112c of the sheet of material 110c with the second pot bonding material148 covering a central portion of the sheet of material 110c.

Shown in FIG. 30 is a sectional view of a decorative assembly 140ccomprising a floral container 10 which is constructed exactly like thefloral container 10 shown in FIG. 1 and described in detail before. Thesheet of material 110c is extended about the floral container 10 and thecrimped portion 132c is formed in the sheet of material 110c in a mannerexactly like that described before in connection with the sheet ofmaterial 110b shown in FIG. 28.

The first pot bonding material 146 is disposed on the sheet of material110c and positioned thereon so that, when the sheet of material 110c iswrapped or extended about the floral container 10, the first pot bondingmaterial 146 is disposed adjacent a portion of the external surfacelayer 14 near the upper end 16 of the floral container 10. The portionof the sheet of material 110c with the pot bonding material 146 thereonis bondingly connected to the external surface layer 14 of the floralcontainer 10 for further cooperating to hold the sheet of material 110cextended about the floral container 10. In addition, the second potbonding material 148, if present, is positioned on the sheet of material110c so that the second pot bonding material 148 engages a portion ofthe lower end of the floral container 10 and is bondingly connectedthereto for still further cooperating to hold the sheet of material 110cextended about the floral container 10 to form the decorative covering138c and decorative assembly 140c.

The closure bonding material 142 and the pot bonding materials 146 and148 may be disposed on the upper surface or the lower surface or both ofthe sheets of material 110 described herein or in any of the otherpositions described in the co-pending application entitled "METHODANDAPPARATUS FOR FORMING A DECORATIVE COVER", Ser. No. 07/926,098, sent tothe PTO on Aug. 5, 1992, Inventor: Donald E. Weder, owned by theAssignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which specificallyhereby is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention in particular is useful for providing a decorativecovering using a sheet of material constructed of a material which isnon-shape sustaining. "Non-shape sustaining" means that the material maybe shaped about the form of the floral container, but the sheet ofmaterial will not hold that shape and will relax back into substantiallythe non-formed shape unless held in the formed shaped by some means suchas the forming of the crimped portion in the sheet of material. Bycomparison, a shape sustaining sheet of material would be a materialsuch as a metal foil for example which may be formed about the floralholding material and which will substantially maintain the formed shape.

Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies described herein and changes may bemade in the steps or the sequence of steps of the methods describedherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A growing tray, comprising:a porous self-supporting holding material having an upper side, a lower side, and an outer peripheral surface extending between the upper side and the lower side, the porous self supporting holding material for growing a botanical item or propagule without an external pot means, the porous self supporting holding material further comprising a plurality of subunits wherein each subunit is adapted for growing or maintaining a separate botanical item or propagule disposed therein and wherein each subunit is adapted for separation from other subunits of the porous self supporting material for independent disposition; and an external surface layer comprising a lacquer composition applied to the lower side and the outer peripheral surface of the porous self supporting holding material and integral thereto, the external surface layer having the property of being impermeable to an irrigant introduced into the porous self supporting holding material, the external surface layer serving to retain the irrigant within the porous self supporting holding material to sustain the botanical items or propagule disposed therein.
 2. The growing tray of claim 1 further comprising support means for providing additional support and reinforcement to the subunits of the porous self supporting holding material.
 3. The growing tray of claim 2 wherein the support means is disposed within the porous self supporting holding material.
 4. The growing tray of claim 2 wherein the support means is disposed at the interface of the outer peripheral surface of the porous self supporting holding material and the external surface layer.
 5. The growing tray of claim 2 wherein the support means is disposed upon the outer peripheral surface of the porous self supporting holding material and integral to the external surface layer.
 6. The growing tray of claim 1 wherein the container further comprises irrigation means for passing an irrigant into the porous self supporting holding material.
 7. The growing tray of claim 6 wherein the irrigation means further comprises a tube inserted into the porous self supporting holding material.
 8. The growing tray of claim 6 wherein the irrigation means further comprises a channel within the porous self supporting holding material.
 9. The growing tray of claim 1 wherein a subunit of the porous self supporting material comprises a cavity which extends from the upper side a distance into the porous self supporting holding material.
 10. The growing tray of claim 9 wherein the cavity of the subunit is adapted for receiving a separate growing unit having a botanical item or propagule disposed therein.
 11. The growing tray of claim 9 further comprising fertilizer means disposed within the cavity of a subunit of the porous self supporting holding material. 